EMP Commission warned in 2017 report: “Millions” of Americans would die following “blackout” of power, food, water that could last more than a year

A chilling report from 2017 by a congressional commission established, in part, to study the effects of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) incident in the United States paints a grim picture.

Portions of the U.S. — perhaps very large regions — would be devoid of electric power, potable water, food, and other basic necessities for as long as a year or more, according to the report by the recently reconstituted Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack.

The commission emphasized that the threat is real and that if such an event were to occur — either naturally, via a gigantic solar flare or via a nuclear detonation — it would jeopardize “modern civilization,” throwing living conditions in vast expanses of the country back to the 1800s, prior to the invention of electricity.

That would result in mass chaos and mass death, the report — which was recently declassified — states. Millions would most likely die says the report, which is titled, “Assessing the Threat from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP).

“A long-term outage owing to EMP could disable most critical supply chains, leaving the U.S. population living in conditions similar to centuries past, prior to the advent of electric power,” said a summary of the July 2017 report, which was provided to the Washington Examiner.

“In the 1800s, the U.S. population was less than 60 million, and those people had many skills and assets necessary for survival without today’s infrastructure. An extended blackout today could result in the death of a large fraction of the American people through the effects of societal collapse, disease, and starvation. While national planning and preparation for such events could help mitigate the damage, few such actions are currently underway or even being contemplated,” the summary continued. (Related: Homeland Security plan calls for response to nuclear attack in D.C. that could kill “hundreds of thousands”.)

Two other reports regarding EMP incidents have also been declassified by the Defense Department, and seven more are awaiting clearance, the Washington Examiner noted.

Likelihood of an attack

In December, EMP.news reported that due to North Korea’s advancing nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, U.S. officials were “dusting off Cold War-era plans for dealing with and surviving an [EMP] attack that Pyongyang now appears capable of launching.”

While such an attack may seem less likely today given that President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are planning a face-to-face Singapore summit in June, there are many other nuclear threats in the world as well. Also, scientists note that the sun is capable of producing gigantic solar flares that would have the same effect on our modern life as a nuclear explosion.

“The tactic is simple: If a nuclear device is exploded at just the right distance and location above the U.S., the theory is that the explosion could devastate the American power grid or, at least, enough of it that millions — and perhaps even tens of millions — would be killed outright or die in the ensuing weeks and months,” EMP.news noted.

In addition to the commission’s report, another by Peter Pry, who served on an earlier iteration of the panel, was also declassified. Called “Life Without Electricity,” that report notes:

— The civil society in America would disintegrate — and rather quickly — requiring authorities to implement armed security measures and dusk-to-dawn curfews. Millions would be refugees leaving powerless homes in search of food, water, shelter, and safety.

— There would be severe disruptions in communications services such as telephones, radio, TV, and Internet.

— No power to treat water, therefore potable water supplies would either vanish or be taken over — either by armed groups or the government.

— Food would become scarce.

— Patients in hospitals who are on some form of life support would perish, as would the sickly around the country.